Drakenstein council and Mayco-predictions

One of the first tasks of the newly constituted municipal council would be the appointment of senior office bearers, including the mayoral committee.

Before one add any names to a portfolio the constituting of a new council is also an opportunity to reconfigure portfolios and align it with the plans of the administration. Now that might not happen with the incoming administration, but I will still play around. 

First, I would add recreation to the public safety portfolio, I mean at any event there should be public safety. Secondly to put focus on the economic growth and development of Drakenstein as a city I would create an Economic Opportunities and Tourism portfolio and add Human Settlements and Rural Development together.

Finance: There are rumours that Gert Combrink might not be returning as Deputy Mayor, should that be the case and he miss out on this portfolio two excellent candidates would be Jako Matthee and Aletta van Staden. Both would also be excellent choices for Chief Whip.

Engineering: Rumour has it Koos le Roux will be returning as Speaker, leaving the portfolio vacant. Two potential candidates are Johan Miller and Anre Koegelenberg.

Public Safety & Recreation: Rean Smuts has retired leaving the portfolio vacant. This could go to Aidan Stowman, Reinhardt van Nieuwenhuyssen or first-time councillor Avron Apollis. 

Social Services: Should Stowman get Public Safety and Recreation, Apollis might get Social Services. Another candidate for is Laurishia van Niekerk.

Inter-Governmental Relations and Communication: It is highly unlikely that Van Nieuwenhuyssen would return to this portfolio, leaving the door open to Van Niekerk. Another candidate would be Rita Andreas.

Environment, Parks & Open Spaces: Christephine Kearns looks set to return to te portfolio.

Human Settlements & Rural Development: Lorraine Cyster might be returning to the portfolio and take on rural development as well.

Arts, Culture & Sport: It looks like a definite that Lorenzo Arendse will take on the Arts, Culture & Sport portfolio. 

Corporate Services: Patricia Mokoena will not be returning the council leaving the portfolio vacant for first time councillor and former PA to the Mayor, Elizabeth Baron.

Planning and Development: Should Miller be moving to engineering the likely candidate for this portfolio might be first-time councillor Stephanus Liebenberg.

Economic Opportunities & Tourism: Rita Andreas should be the likely choice for this portfolio should it be created, thanks to her successful first term in the rural development portfolio. Should the new portfolio not be created she will most probably return to her old portfolio. 

Voters made an x for the devil they know

Voters made an x for the devil they know. This is the conclusion one can draw from the recent local government election. 

Despite the ANC and DA still being the two biggest political parties, they did not have a good local government election. 

Both should also be doing some serious introspection.

While at it they may as well look at and compare their message to that of other parties. Their ignorant approach and avoiding the noise that often cause distraction is what cost them votes.

The voter percentage everywhere was down. There are many factors to that, for starters the Independent Electoral Commission was not ready for an election. In their defence they said before the proclamation they not ready, but that is just poor planning. Secondly the election was on a Monday that was a public holiday, and many compatriots took a long weekend. There are other factors as well like the weather and fact that political parties did not offer any real service delivery solutions and speak to the heart of voters.

In Drakenstein with 51,44% the voter percentage was 13,80% less than the 64,72% in 2016. There were 131 182 registered voters of whom 67 483 voted in 2021, compared to the 129 265 registered voters of whom 83 666 voted in 2016.

Despite the DA and ANC retaining all the wards and the ANC winning one from the Progressive Democratic Movement (PDM), the DA lost 7 and ANC 2 seats. The DA went from governing with a comfortable 66% to a 55% support, while the ANC went from 23% to 19%. This is a lot for the two big political parties.

On the ballot paper there were 19 political parties of whom 11 have won seats in the Drakenstein council. There was an expectation that GOOD would perform well, but they disappointed and managed only to perform uhm good [sic]. Nevertheless, they took votes from the DA and in some wards from the ANC. 

Meanwhile the Freedom Front Plus, Concerned Drakenstein Residents, ACDP and Patriotic Alliance did very well. Icosa increased its support, but there was an opportunity for them to do better. Big surprises in the election were the EFF, who lost votes, and the PAC and Al Jama who both increased their support.

Why did the DA and ANC still do better than the smaller parties? Both can run bigger campaigns and, based on a summarised response from a few voters, they voted for the devil they know.

Several wards had a voter percentage of under 50% with wards 5, 8 and 24 at 41%, ward 14 had 40% and ward 16 with 35% the lowest. The highest voter percentage was 71% in ward 2, but still lower than in 2016. The DA’s support in wards dropped from 66,30 to 54,92%.

Compared to 2016 the DA lost the most support in ward 20 (31,82%), ward 24 (30,81%), ward 14 (26,69%), ward 22 (26,18%) and ward 25 (25,78%). The party had a slight increase in ward 6 (4,67%) and ward 28 (0,7%).

The Freedom Front Plus performed well in ward 2 gaining 24% of the vote, where the DA lost 23,68%. GOOD did good in ward 25 (25,92%) and received 17,81% in ward 33 where the DA lost 21%. In ward 11 the DA lost 22,74% where Good received 15,67% and CDR 14,81%. CDR also performed well in ward 14 (16.81%) and got 14,86% in ward 13 where the DA lost 23,4%.

Smaller parties who did well, based on the voter percentages from 2021 vs 2016 and political party representation in council, is a clear sign that voters are not happy with the bigger parties and sending a message to parties that votes can be taken back.

The challenge now is for the duly elected public representatives of the fifth Drakenstein municipal council to be just that: public representatives. It is especially the smaller parties who will need to show they can be an effective opposition, with a bigger task resting on the shoulders of those entering council for the first time to make an impact on their communities.

Some entering council will learn that there is a difference to being an activist and being a public representative and saying things are easier than getting things done, as well as the consequences for some decisions.

GOOD will have to be careful not to make the same mistakes as the Independent Democrats back in the day, while CDR needs to be careful not to walk the same path as that of the Federation of Democrats during the second administration.

Most important for our public representatives is that the newly formed government might have been given a mandate, but that should not be taken for granted. Those not part of the government were also given a mandate to hold local government accountable and ensure they play their part in ensuring service delivery takes place.

An edited version of this opinion piece was originally published in Paarl Post of 11 November 2021.

DA Drakenstein's challenge

Now that the #2016MunicipalElection is all done, the hard work starts.

One of the first tasks of newly constituted councils is electing the top officials – Executive Mayor, Deputy Executive Mayor, Speaker and who will act if the number one and two is unable to.

While we knew before we made our X who the Mayoral Candidates were, we could only speculate on the other positions. Many looked at the PR [Proportional Representation] list and viewed that as an indication. It is however not a prescribed guideline of how the executive should be chosen and that duty rest upon the majority caucus, guided by the local and provincial party political leadership.

This is widely a follow-up to Drakenstein’s surprises and disappointments. This piece is zooming in on the governing party in Drakenstein.

Despite the DA having a male Mayor-elect, majority of their caucus will be females. What makes it more interesting is that that more than half of the 26 wards the party won, was won by females: an indication that even the voter think the party has competent female leaders. The party also increased its support in the predominantly coloured areas. The above are all things the party cannot ignore.

Our eyes should be on how the new caucus approach gender equality. Only five of the former Executive Mayoral Committee members are returning to council. And only one of them is female. Thus safe to assume Wendy Philander will again be part of Mayco. Comparing to her colleagues she did exceptionally well in her first term in council and not only topped the DA Drakenstein PR list [considering the DA said they reserve the number one position for their Mayoral Candidates], but she also twice appeared on the DA’s Provincial List for the Western Cape Legislature, currently on number two.

One can thus assume she is DA’s most senior female leader in Drakenstein. It would thus be interesting to see if the party reckons she performed well and should she not be in the top 3 to explain why she was not considered. Having said this we can also safely assume the party would re-elect DA-stalwart Koos le Roux as Speaker. In his first term he oversee a council without any incidents and council meetings were calm and peaceful, with respect.

That is not the party’s only challenge, composition of the new Executive Mayoral Committee might also be a headache for Mayor-elect, Conrad Poole. 

Of the 26 councillors 19 are returning with 6 having experience of Mayco – one of them in a District council. As mentioned in Drakenstein Surprises it is a given that Linda Landu who defected from the ANC to the DA would be rewarded with a Mayco seat. 

Would be interesting to see what portfolio she is given. Before I get to my Mayco speculations – or ideal Mayco – I would first restructure the portfolio’s and align it to the needs of the community but also based on services the municipality should be providing.

I would structure the ten portfolios as:

Community Services	Housing & Rural Development
Utility Services	Social Development
Safety and Security	Economic Opportunities
Planning & Environmental Affairs	Corporate Services
Inter-Governmental Relations & Communications	Finances

Furthermore I would propose that committees be structured as:

+ Finance

+ Planning & Economic Development [Planning & Environmental Affairs, Economic Opportunities, Housing & Rural Development]

+ Corporate Affairs [Corporate Services, IGR & ICT]

+ Infrastructure Development [Utility Services]

+ Community Development [Community Services, Safety & Security, Social Development]

Because I don’t view Housing, Economic Opportunities and tourism as a service that is just delivered but one that needs constant planning and development I structure it under the Planning and Economic Development Portfolio Committee.

My Executive speculation:

Portfolio	Speculation	Alternative
Community Service	Aidan Stowman	Eva Gouws
Utility Services	Reinhardt van Nieuwenhuyzen	N/a
Safety & Security	Rean Smuts	N/a
Planning & Environmental Affairs	Jako Matthee	Wilhelmina Smit
Housing & Rural Development	Wendy Philander	Rita Andreas
Social Development	Eva Gouws	Aidan Stowman
Economic Opportunities	Wilhelmina Smit	Jako Matthee
Corporate Services	Jo-Ann De Wet	N/a
Finance	Gert Combrink	N/a
IGR & Communication	Linda Landu	Wendy Philander

Speaker	Koos le Roux	Wendy Philander
Deputy Mayor	Wendy Philander	Koos le Roux
Chief Whip	Ben de Goede	Renier Koegelenberg

Drakenstein’s surprises and disappointments

#2016MunicipalElections had some surprises and disappointments. The Democratic Alliance not only became the first political party to win a consecutive local government election in Drakenstein, but also increased their vote with nearly 10%. It looks like the DA is copying part of its City of Cape Town performance in the second biggest municipality in the Western Cape.

While the DA increased their support in the Paarl East – coloured – area, especially Chicago, Amstelhof, Nederburg, Denneburg. It did not show any major increase in so-called “white-areas”. In Wellington the DA’s support took a dip in most of the wards. This could be due to the support the EFF, PDM, Freedom Front Plus, Federation of Democrats, ACDP and ICOSA received.  Smaller parties all increased their vote from 2011. Most notably is the PDM who gaining 1.01% from 2011’s 0.68%. ACDP gained 0.38% and the FF+ gained 0.35%.

The ANC managed to only get 23.59% of the vote. That is 7.23% less than the 30.83% in 2011 and will send the once governing party to the drawing board. The ANC’s support in the wards it managed to hold onto also took a dip of between 4 and 6%.

Another notable thing from the election is that former ANC councillor, Linda Landu – who defected from the ANC to the DA, months before the election – could not win Ward 12 as her new party might have hoped for. She only managed to get 4.2%, would thus be interesting to see with what Mayco position she would be rewarded.

There were atleast three surprises in this election in Drakenstein. One of them being the DA not only taking the Gouda ward from the ANC with more than 10%, but increasing their support to just under 50%.

The DA also took control of another former ANC stronghold, the Simondium ward, with 62.32% - 15.17% more than the ANC’s 47.15% in 2011. This could be due to unhappiness by residents in the ward with the former councillor. What makes the win significant though is that the DA candidate is not even from the area.

Smaller parties showed they should not be underestimated in local government election. The Progressive People’s Movement took control of an ANC stronghold. The PDM won the ward but with less than 50% only getting 41.67%. What makes it surprising is that the ANC lost more than double its support, falling from 85.53% in 2011 to 40.83% in this election.

One of the other surprises is that the EFF did not perform as well as many might have hoped it would. This could indicate that while some agree with some of the things the revolutionary movement is advocating for, its performance on the Parliamentary floor was not good enough.

While the EFF gathered quite support in coloured areas, across Drakenstein, it managed to make some good inroads in Mbekweni - possibly contributing to the drop in the ANC support.

As the fourth Drakenstein municipal council constitutes the voice of the voters will be represented in council by eight political parties. This is the most political party representation since the amalgamation in 2000 of the council.

Newly elected Drakenstein Municipality Councillors

New Drakenstein Executive:

Executive Mayor	Conrad Poole
Deputy Executive Mayor & Finances	Gert Combrink
Speaker	Aidan Stowman
Chief Whip	Anre Koegelenberg
Safety (acting Mayor in absence of Mayor & Deputy)	Rean Smuts
Engineering	Koos le Roux
Corporate Services	Patricia Makoena
Planning & Economic Development	Johan Muller
Social Services	Francis Jacobs
Sport, Youth & Culture	Laurichia van Niekerk
Parks and Public Open Spaces	Christephine Kearns
Inter-Governmental Relations & Communication	Reinhardt van Nieuwenhuyzen
Human Settlements	Lorraine Willemse
Rural Managements	Rita Andreas

Drakenstein Councillors to Cape Winelands District Municipality:

ANC	Colin Rens
	Lydia Sambokwe
DA	Linda Landu
	Ruth Arnolds
	Loekie Niehaus
	Miriam Adriaanse
	Eva Gouws
EFF	Moses Klaas

Following the #2016MunicipalElections the Democratic Alliance won the second biggest municipality in the Western Cape with 66.02%.
8 parties will represent the voters of Drakenstein. Seat calculation: Democratic Alliance 43 seats (66.02%), ANC 15 seats (23.59%), EFF: 2 seats (2.36%), PDM: 1 seat (1.67%), ACDP: 1 seat (1.38%), FD: 1 seat (0.75%),
ICOSA: 1 seat (0.74) and FF+ 1 seat (0.69%).

ACDP		Joseph Matthee
ANC		Abraham Bekeer
ANC		Bongiwe Duba
ANC		Moutie Richards
ANC		Mandisa Vika
ANC		Colin Rens
ANC		Amelda Afrika
ANC		Thuso Mpulanyana
ANC		Lydia Sambokwe
ANC		Nkomfa Mkabile
ANC	W05	Ndileka Mbenene
ANC	W06	Tryphina Zukiswa Nqoro
ANC	W08	Nomonde Zikhali
ANC	W09	Tembekile Mangena
ANC	W12	Mcedisi Nobula
ANC	W32	Lawrence Nzele
DA		Conrad Poole
DA		Wendy Philander
DA		Linda Landu
DA		Koos le Roux
DA		Nancy George
DA		Gert Combrink
DA		Rita Andreas
DA		Zolani Masoka
DA		Andre Koegelenberg
DA		Minah Mdunusie
DA		Rean Smuts
DA		Patricia Makoena
DA		Nico Sauerman
DA		Anathi Lugqola
DA		Elizabeth Solomons
DA		Aletta van Santen
DA		Ben de Goede
DA	W01	Calvin Kroutz
DA	W02	Hendrik Kotze
DA	W03	Wilhelmina Smit
DA	W04	Johan Miller
DA	W07	Ruth Arnolds
DA	W10	Christephine Kearns
DA	W11	Aidan Stowman
DA	W13	Soudah Ross
DA	W14	Jo-Ann de Wet
DA	W15	Loekie Niehaus
DA	W17	Jako Matthee
DA	W18	Albertus Buckle
DA	W19	Theunis Bester
DA	W20	Patricia Cupido
DA	W21	Eva Gouws
DA	W22	Felix Cupido
DA	W23	Frances Jacobs
DA	W24	Miriam Adriaanse
DA	W25	Laurichia van Niekerk
DA	W26	Joan Anderson
DA	W27	Vanessa Booysen
DA	W28	Reinhardt van Nieuwenhuyzen
DA	W29	Lorraine Willemse
DA	W30	Johannes Smit
DA	W31	Geoffrey Ford
DA	W33	Sharon September
EFF		Moses Thembile Klaas
EFF		Xoliswa Jonas
Federation of Democrats		Marthinus le Hoe
Freedom Front Plus		Willem Meyer
ICOSA		Alvina Abrahams
PDM	W16	Derrick Blanckenberg